B visa

B1/B2 visa for an Argentinian citizen

A B visa is one of a category of non-immigrant visas issued by the United States government to foreign citizens seeking entry for a temporary period. The two types of B visa are the B-1 visa, issued to those seeking entry for business purposes, and the B-2 visa, issued to those seeking entry for tourism or other non-business purposes. In practice, the two visa categories are usually combined together and issued as a "B-1/B-2 visa" valid for a temporary visit for either business or pleasure, or a combination of the two. Visitors from some countries do not need to obtain a visa for these purposes (see United States visas).

Cost

The cost of a B visa consists of the application fee, which all applicants must pay (currently 160 USD^[1]), and the issuance fee, which varies by nation based on reciprocity and is only paid if the visa is approved.^[2]

As of October 2017, only nationals of the following countries must pay the issuance fee.^[2]

Country	Issuance fee (USD)	Entries	Visa validity	Notes
Angola	10	multiple	2 years
Australia	0	multiple	1 year	May also enter by land without a visa, or by air or sea with ESTA.
	25	multiple	5 years
Cameroon	240	multiple	1 year
Central African Republic	40	multiple	1 year
Comoros	31	1	45 days
	94	multiple	1 year
Congo	20	multiple	6 months
Democratic Republic of the Congo	150	multiple	1 month
	250	multiple	3 months
French nationals in New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna	100	multiple	10 years	May also enter by land without a visa, or by air or sea with ESTA.
Kenya	40	multiple	5 years
Kyrgyzstan	45	multiple	5 years
Libya	10	1	3 months
Malawi	0	1	3 months
	60	multiple	6 months
	140	multiple	1 year
Mauritania	70	multiple	1 year
Myanmar	32	1	3 months	For B-1 or B-2.
	162	multiple	1 year	For B-1 only.
Oman	0	multiple	2 years	For B-2 only.
	15	multiple	2 years	For B-1 or B-1/B-2.
Papua New Guinea	0	1	3 months
	15	multiple	1 year
Turkmenistan	0	multiple	3 months
	115	multiple	6 months
	355	multiple	1 year
Yemen	30	multiple	1 year

Validity period and duration of stay

US visa validity period (maximum available for B-1/B-2 type, per country)

  United States

  10 years

  5 years

  2-4 years

  1 year

  3-6 months

As with other non-immigrant U.S. visas, a B-1/B-2 visa has a validity period (from 1 month to 10 years), allows for one, two or multiple entries into the U.S., and elicits a period of stay (maximum 6 months) recorded by the Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry on the individual's form I-94. The validity period determines how long the visa may be used to enter the U.S., while the period of stay determines how long the person may stay in the U.S. after each entry.

Validity periods per country are listed in the U.S. Department of State Visa Reciprocity Tables and vary from 1 month for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (with lower issuance fee), 1 year for Vietnam, 3 years for Russia, and 5 years for Pakistan, to 10 years for China, India, Israel, Malaysia, Morocco, Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, Tunisia, and most countries in the Americas and Europe. For some countries, longer validity periods are available for higher issuance fees or specific visa types (B-1 or B-2).

Periods of stay for B-1 visas may be granted initially for a duration long enough to allow the visitor to conduct their business, up to a maximum of 6 months, and can be extended for another 6 months;^[11] stays with B-1 visas are usually granted for three months or less, while stays with B-2 visas are generally granted for six months.^[12] Extensions are possible, provided the individual has not violated the conditions of admission.^[13]

A Border Crossing Card (BCC), also called a laser visa, has a 10-year validity and functions as both a BCC and a B-1/B-2 visitor's visa. The BCC is only issued to nationals of Mexico who apply for a visa inside Mexico.^[14]

Validity of B visas by nationality, as of October 2017:^[2][15]

Electronic Visa Update System

A 10-year United States B visa issued to a Chinese citizen. The annotation indicates that Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) enrolment is needed before travel.

On March 15, 2016, the U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP) announced that, starting from 29 November 2016, all holders of Chinese passports who also hold 10-year B visas are required to enroll in the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) before travelling to the United States via land, air or sea. The EVUS is designed for visa holders to update any changes to their basic biographic and employment information at the time of their visa applications. Similar to the ESTA, each EVUS registration is valid for a period of 2 years or until the holder's passport expiration date, whichever comes first, and each user of EVUS must pay a cost recovery fee of US$8 to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Holders of EVUS can travel to the U.S. for unlimited times providing that their EVUS registration and visa remain valid.^[16]

The requirement applies to any holder of Chinese passport and B visa with a 10-year validity. It also applies to holders of non-citizen travel documents issued by other countries, such as refugee travel document and certificate of identity, whose nationality is Chinese. It does not apply, however, to holders of HKSAR passports and MSAR passports, holders of B visas with a validity shorter than 10 years, and holders of other types of visas. The CBP and DHS are seeking to expand the EVUS to other nationalities in the future.^[17]

EVUS was officially launched on 31 October 2016 for early enrollments. Upon launch, CBP announced that the enrollment fee will be suspended until further notice.^[18]

Visitor visa statistics

Issued B-1/B-2 visas in fiscal 2017

  United States

  Visa exempt nationalities

  Over 400 thousand issued visas

  Over 100 thousand issued visas

  Over 50 thousand issued visas

  Over 25 thousand issued visas

  Over 10 thousand issued visas

  Over 5 thousand issued visas

  Under 5 thousand issued visas

Most B-1,2 visas are issued to the nationals of the following countries (listed over 40,000 visas):^[19]

Nationality	Issued B-1,2 visas
	2017[19]	2016[20]	2015[21]
China	1,452,834	1,989,925	2,227,670
Mexico[lower-alpha 1]	1,088,880	1,106,723	1,234,885
India	599,983	563,202	553,385
Brazil	520,589	450,166	870,008
Colombia	333,433	374,398	345,233
Argentina	353,555	295,326	240,115
Dominican Republic	194,557	136,057	85,140
Ecuador	168,103	150,163	150,458
Russia	164,944	151,692	122,147
Israel	163,495	168,136	137,439
Nigeria	155,940	162,996	136,409
Philippines	115,712	99,967	83,139
Vietnam	100,423	86,180	80,936
Poland	95,272	88,624	81,861
Peru	82,485	79,927	97,936
Costa Rica	75,529	71,710	58,139
Turkey	74,312	85,560	78,118
Jamaica	65,119	94,458	83,483
Hong Kong	62,131	61,708	54,027
Honduras	54,753	48,177	35,004
Egypt	54,216	58,062	46,433
Saudi Arabia	52,476	78,042	85,303
Indonesia	52,233	48,787	48,239
Pakistan	48,537	65,844	62,714
Venezuela	47,087	144,283	223,854
South Africa	46,427	45,240	48,432
Ukraine	45,709	45,638	52,943
Thailand	43,182	47,382	44,795
Guatemala	41,055	52,326	48,735
Total	6,276,851	7,988,520	8,403,683

In fiscal year 2014, most reasons to refuse a visa were cited as "failure to establish entitlement to nonimmigrant status", "incompatible application" (most overcome), "unlawful presence", "misrepresentation", "criminal convictions", "smugglers" and "controlled substance violators". Smaller number of applications were rejected for "physical or mental disorder", "prostitution", "espionage", "terrorist activities", "falsely claiming citizenship" and other grounds for refusal including "presidential proclamation", "money laundering", "communicable disease" and "commission of acts of torture or extrajudicial killings".^[22]

Number of non-immigrant admissions for tourist and business purposes into the United States in fiscal year 2016

  United States

  Over 2 million admissions

  Over 1 million admissions

  Over 500 thousand admissions

  Over 250 thousand admissions

  Over 100 thousand admissions

  Over 15 thousand admissions

  Under 15 thousand admissions

Highest number of non-immigrant admissions for tourists and for business purposes into the United States in fiscal year 2014, 2015 and 2016 was from the following countries (listed over 700,000 admissions):^[23][24][25]

Country	FY2016	FY2015	FY 2014
Mexico	18,420,891	19,175,345	18,889,281
Canada	11,366,670	11,671,122	11,289,743
United Kingdom	4,930,593	4,691,874	4,549,934
Japan	3,717,029	3,750,667	3,933,941
China	2,587,968	2,309,654	2,001,302
Germany	2,190,832	2,208,145	2,283,086
South Korea	2,001,417	1,742,422	1,576,328
France	1,897,398	1,915,725	1,966,335
Brazil	1,866,261	2,383,822	2,275,588
Australia	1,423,898	1,399,615	1,389,358
Italy	1,262,691	1,229,115	1,282,485
India	1,206,225	1,175,153	1,111,738
Spain	1,012,133	953,969	955,737
Argentina	943,224	765,576	730,089
Colombia	885,763	928,424	924,916
Netherlands	766,691	749,826	766,936
Total (worldwide)	69,128,433	69,025,896	67,519,113

Use for other countries

U.S. tourist visas that are valid for further travel are accepted as substitute visas for national visas in following countries:

•  Albania — 90 days;
•  Antigua and Barbuda — 30 days; USD 100 visa waiver fee applies.
•  Belize — 30 days; USD 50 visa waiver fee applies.
•  Bosnia and Herzegovina — 30 days;^[31]
•  Canada — up to 6 months; only for citizens of Brazil arriving by air with Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA).
•  Chile — 90 days; for nationals of China only.
•  Colombia — 90 days; applicable to certain nationalities only.
•  Costa Rica — 30 days or less if the visa is about to expire; must hold a multiple entry visa.
•  Dominican Republic — 90 days;
•  El Salvador — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
•  Georgia — 90 days within any 180-day period;
•  Guatemala — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
•  Honduras — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
•  Jamaica — 30 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
•  Macedonia — 15 days;
•  Mexico — 180 days;^[32][33]
•  Montenegro — 30 days;
•  Nicaragua — 90 days; not applicable to all nationalities.
•  Oman — certain nationalities can obtain an electronic Omani visa if holding a valid U.S. visa.
•  Panama — 30/180 days; must hold a visa valid for at least 2 more entries.
•  Peru — 180 days; applicable to nationals of China and India only.
•  Philippines — 7 days for nationals of China; 14 days for nationals of India.
•  Qatar — Non-visa-free nationals can obtain an electronic travel authorization for 30 days if holding a valid U.S. visa.
•  São Tomé and Príncipe — 15 days;
•  Serbia — 90 days;
•  South Korea — 30 days;
•  Taiwan — certain nationalities can obtain an online travel authority if holding a valid U.S. visa.
•  Turkey — certain nationalities can obtain an electronic Turkish visa if holding a valid U.S. visa.
•  UAE — Visa on arrival for 14 days; for nationals of India only. (Also applicable for Indian citizens holding U.S. green card.)^[34]

Requirement to overcome presumption of intending immigrant

Under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a foreigner must prove to the satisfaction of the Consular officer his or her intent to return to his home country after visiting the United States. The act specifically states:^[35]

Every alien (other than a nonimmigrant described in subparagraph (L) or (V) of section 101(a)(15), and other than a nonimmigrant described in any provision of section 101(a)(15)(H)(i) except subclause (b1) of such section) shall be presumed to be an immigrant until he establishes to the satisfaction of the consular officer, at the time of application for a visa, and the immigration officers, at the time of application for admission, that he is entitled to a nonimmigrant status under section 101(a)(15).

In practice, this means that consular officers have wide discretion to deny a visa application. Once refused, there is no judicial or other means to challenge a visa decision. The foreigner, however, is free to apply for a visa again, particularly if circumstances have changed that might show to the consular officer that the applicant overcomes the presumption of being an intending immigrant.^[36]

Uses of a B-1/B-2 visa

Business or pleasure cover a wide variety of possible reasons to visit the United States.

Under the category of temporary visitor for business, a B-1 visa can be used to engage in any of the following activities.^[37]

• Purchase supplies or materials
• Hold business meetings^[38]
• Perform certain business functions as a member of the board of directors of a U.S. corporation^[39]
• Settle an estate
• Interview and hire staff
• Negotiate contracts, sign contracts, or take orders for products manufactured outside the United States^[40][38]
• Attend a convention, meeting, trade show, or business event for scientific, educational, professional, or business purposes^[40][38]
• Perform independent research^[40][38]
• Receive practical medical experience and medical instruction under the supervision and direction of faculty physicians at a U.S. medical school's hospital as part of a third-year or fourth-year internship as long as the visitor is a studying at a foreign medical school and the visitor is not compensated by the hospital without remuneration from the hospital^[39]
• Observe U.S. medical practices and consult with medical colleagues on techniques, as long as the visitor is a medical doctor, the visitor receives no compensation from a U.S. source, and the visitor does not provide patient care while in the U.S.^[39]
• Take photographs, as long as the visitor is a professional photographer and the visitor receives no compensation from a U.S. source^[39]
• Record music, as long as the visitor is a musician, the recording will be distributed and sold only outside the U.S., and the visitor will give no public performances^[39]
• Create art, as long as the visitor is a creative artist, the visitor is not under contract with a U.S. employer, and the visitor does not intend to regularly sell such artwork in the U.S.^[39]
• Perform certain professional services^[41]
• Perform as a professional entertainer as part of a cultural exchange program performed before a nonpaying audience and funded by visitor's country^[38]
• Perform as a professional entertainer as part of a competition for which there is no compensation other than travel expenses or, in certain limited instances, a prize^[38]
• Perform work as crew on a private yacht that sails out of a foreign home port and cruises in U.S. waters^[38]
• Perform services on behalf of a foreign-based employer as a jockey, sulky driver, horse trainer, or horse groomer^[39]
• Compete in a particular athletic competition^[40] with the only compensation being prize money as long as the prize money is not the recipient's primary source of income^[38]
• Try out for a professional sports team^[40] as long as the visitor is not compensated other than reimbursement of travel expenses^[38]
• Participate in an athletic tournament or athletic sporting event as a professional athlete, as long as the visitor's only compensation is prize money, the visitor's principal place of business or activity is outside the U.S., the visitor's primary source of income is outside the U.S., and the visitor is either part of an international sports league or the sporting activities involved have an international dimension^[39]
• Survey potential sites for a business^[40]
• Perform as a lecturer or speaker^[40]
• Work for a foreign exhibitor in connection with exhibits at international fairs or international exhibits, as long as the visitor's employment responsibilities are primarily outside the U.S.^[38]
• Install, service, or repair commercial or industrial equipment or machinery that was sold by a non-U.S. company to a U.S. buyer when specifically required by the purchase contract; construction work is not allowed^[40][38]
• Perform a minor amount of volunteer services, excluding construction, for a religious organization or a nonprofit charitable organization, as long as volunteering is not the primary purpose of entering the U.S.^[38]
• Participate in a training program that is not designed primarily to provide employment^[40]
• Observe how a business operates or how professional activities are conducted^[38]
• Seek investments in the U.S., without actually performing productive labor or actively participating in the management of a business^[38]
• Participate in Peace Corps training as a volunteer or under contract^[38]
• Participate in the United Nations Institute for Training and Research internship program, as long a foreign government does not employ the visitor^[38]
• Drill for oil on the Outer Continental Shelf^[38]
• As a minister of religion, engage in an evangelical tour, as long as the visitor does not intend to take an appointment with any one church and the visitor will be supported by offerings contributed at each evangelical meeting^[39]
• As a minister of religion, temporarily exchange pulpits with U.S. ministers of religion, as long as the visitor will continue to be reimbursed by a foreign church and will not be compensated by the U.S. church^[39]
• Perform missionary work, religious instruction, religious aid to the elderly or needy, or religious proselytizing as a member of a religious denomination, as long as the work does not involve the selling of articles, the solicitation of donation, the acceptance of donations, administrative work, or is a substitute for ordinary labor for hire, and the visitor will not be compensated from U.S. sources other than an allowance or other reimbursement for travel expenses incidental to the temporary stay^[39]
• Participating in an organized project conducted by a recognized religious or nonprofit charitable organization that benefits U.S. local communities, as long as the visitor is a member of, and has a commitment to, the particular organization, the visitor receives no compensation from a U.S. source other than reimbursement of travel expenses^[39]

Under the category of temporary visitor for pleasure, a B-2 visa can be used to:

• Travel within the U.S.^[39]
• Visit family or friends
• Participate in a convention, a conference, or a convocation of a fraternal, social, or service nature^[39]
• Obtain medical treatment as long as the visitor has the means to pay for the medical treatment^[39]
• Enroll in a short, recreational course of study, as long as it is not credited toward a degree^[39]
• Participate in an event, talent show, or a contest as an amateur, as long the visitor is not typically compensated for such participation and the visitor does not actually receive payment, other than reimbursement of travel expenses^[39]
• Enter as a dependent of an alien member of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces temporarily assigned for duty in the U.S.^[39]
• Accompany a person with either a D-1 visa or a D-2 visa with the sole purpose of accompanying the person^[39]
• Enter with the intent of becoming engaged, meeting the family of a fiancé, making arrangements for a wedding, or renewing a relationship with a fiancé^[39]
• Enter with the intent of marrying a U.S. citizen and then return to a residence outside the U.S. after the marriage^[39]
• Accompany a spouse or child who is a U.S. citizen on a temporary visit to the U.S.^[39]
• Enter as a cohabiting (unmarried) partner of a non-immigrant visa holder if the partner is not otherwise eligible for derivative status under the partner's visa classification.^[39]

Holders of B-1/B-2 visas are prohibited from engaging in any of the following activities.

• Employment, whether paid or unpaid (some exceptions apply)
• Receive education which credits to a degree
• Arrive in the U.S. as a part of a crew of a ship or an aircraft
• Work as a journalist or other information media
• Perform before a paying audience
• Live permanently or long-term in the U.S.
• Manage a business located in the U.S.^[40]
• Start a new branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of a foreign employer^[38]
• Enter the U.S. with the purpose of performing emergency response services^[38]

Adjusted Visa Refusal Rate

US B visa refusal rate in fiscal year 2016

  United States

  Visa exempt countries

  Over 50%

  Over 40%

  Over 30%

  Over 20%

  Over 10%

  Over 5%

  Over 3%

  Under 3%

The adjusted visa refusal rate for B visas were as follows.

See also

• Visa policy of the United States
• Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)
• B visa in lieu of other visas

External links

• US Department of State page on Visitor Visas
• USCIS page on B-1 business visas

References